You grossly underestimate how long things take.
That’s why planning your day doesn’t work.
You’re not estimating accurately IF you’re estimating at all.
It’s not your fault.
We’re taught to get things done.
Not to think about how long it takes to get them done.
That’s why you believe you can accomplish much more than you actually can.
It’s called Belief Bias. When you rely on beliefs instead of logic.
Logic would tell you there’s no way to get through 10 things today on top of your meetings, calls, pick-ups, meals, and emails.
But belief would tell you, “Sure you can!”
Instead of feeling good about the 6 tasks you crossed off, you focus on the 4 you didn’t.
You go to bed feeling down and uninspired.
You wake up feeling behind.
It’s a vicious cycle.
When it comes to thinking about your day, it’s vital to apply logic.
That means:
- Add up the “free” hours in your day (the ones without meetings, appointments, and travel time).
- Add up the time it takes for the tasks you want to get done.
- Compare your task time to your free time.
When you have 4.5 hours of tasks on your list and only two “free” hours, you quickly see the discrepancy.
You vastly overestimate what you think you can get done.
The key is, to be honest about how long things really take.
For the longest time, I told myself this blog took me thirty minutes to write. Week after week I blocked 30 minutes to write it.
It takes me an hour. (if I’m lucky).
It does no good to lie to myself, fall behind all day, and feel like a failure.
When you’re realistic with your time, you get fewer things done.
But you have MORE satisfaction. Greater reward. Far more accomplishment.
Because you achieve what you set out to do.
That’s what I want for you.
To feel good about all the effort you’re putting in.
To go to bed uplifted.
To wake up motivated.
Do it by thinking through the time for your tasks and seeing what fits into your day.
Don’t fake it.
Underestimating your time undercuts your worth.
And you are far too valuable to feel less than.
P.S. If you’re thinking “I have to get better at this before another year starts”…let’s talk about how to get things done on your terms. Schedule a call with me HERE.
Leave a Reply